Abstract
Variation in water chemistry was studied in 80 lakes in southern Sweden. The lakes had forest dominated catchments. The length of the time series was 14 years. Synchrony was calculated as Pearson’s product moment correlation coefficients for all combinations of lakes, i.e. 3160 lake-pairs. The chemical variables studied were non-marine sulphate (SO4 *), non-marine calcium (Ca*), absorbance and acid neutralising capacity (ANC). Statistically significant synchrony occurred in 93% of all lake-pairs for SO4 *, and between 58 and 67% for absorbance, Ca* and ANC. In 70% of all lake-pairs, the synchrony was \s>0.71 for SO4 *, which means that more than half of the variation in one lake could be explained by the variation in the other lake. For absorbance, Ca* and ANC, about 25% of the lake-pairs had a synchrony \s>0.71. The relatively high synchrony for SO4 * occurred during an overall downward trend in SO4 * concentration.
The degree of synchrony in our study was at a level comparable to other studies in northern America and England. However, our study included lakes in a much larger area, with distances of up to 500 km between the lakes, while earlier studies were made on small lake districts with lakes located within approximately 50 km. In contrast to these earlier studies, there was no correlation between synchrony and distance, lake characteristics or catchment characteristics. However, when a small subset of 15 lakes in the southeast of Sweden was selected, such relations were found.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baines, S.B., Webster, K.E., Kratz, T.K., Carpenter, S.R. and Magnuson, J.J.: 2000, ‘Synchronous behavior of temperature, calcium, and chlorophyll in lakes of northern Wisconsin’, Ecology 81, 815–825.
Bishop, K.H.: 1991, ‘Episodic Increases in Stream Acidity, Catchment Flow Pathways and Hydrograph Separation’, Doctoral Thesis, University of Cambridge.
Bushaw, K.L., Zepp, R.G., Tarr, M.A., Schulz Jander, D., Bourbonniere, R.A., Hodson, R.E., Miller, W.L., Bronk, D.A. and Moran, M.A.: 1996, ‘Photochemical release of biologically available nitrogen from aquatic dissolved organic matter’, Nature 381, 404–407.
Evans, C.D., Cullen, J.M., Alewell, C., Kopacek, J., Marchetto, A., Moldan, F., Prechtel, A., Rogora, M., Vesely, J. and Wright, R.: 2001a, ‘Recovery from acidification in European surface waters’, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 5, 283–297.
Evans, C.D., Monteith, D.T. and Harriman, R.: 2001b, ‘Long-term variability in the deposition of marine ions at west coast sites in the UK Acid Waters Monitoring Network: Impacts on surface water chemistry and significance for trend determination’, Sci. Total Environ. 265, 115–129.
Ferrier, R. C., Jenkins, A., Wright, R. F., Schopp, W. and Barth, H.: 2001, ‘Assessment of recovery of European surface waters from acidification 1970–2000: An introduction to the Special Issue’, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 5, 274–282.
Fölster, J.: 2001, ‘Significance of processes in the near-stream zone on stream water acidity in a small acidified forest catchment’, Hydrol. Processes 15, 201–217.
Fölster, J. and Wilander, A.: 2002, Förändringar i vattenkemin i svenska vattendrag under 30 år (in Swedish), Dept. of Environ. Assess., Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala.
George, D.G., Talling, J.F. and Rigg, E.: 2000, ‘Factors influencing the temporal coherence of five lakes in the English Lake District’, Freshw. Biol. 43, 449–461.
Henriksen, A., Skjelkvale, B.L., Mannio, J., Wilander, A., Harriman, R., Curtis, C., Jensen, J.P., Fjeld, E. and Moiseenko, T.: 1998, ‘Northern European Lake Survey, 1995 — Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Russian Kola, Russian Karelia, Scotland and Wales’, Ambio 27, 80–91.
Hruska, J., Laudon, H., Johnson, C.E., Köhler, S. and Bishop, K.: 2001, ‘Acid/base character of organic acids in a boreal stream during snowmelt’, Water Resour. Res. 37, 1043–1056.
Hurrel, J.W.: 1995, ‘Decadal trends in the North Atlantic Oscillation: Regional temperatures and precipitation’, Science 269, 676–679.
Johnson, R.K.: 1999, ‘Regional representativeness of Swedish reference lakes’, Environ. Manage. 23, 115–124.
Karltun, E.: 1995, ‘Sulphate Adsorption on Variable-Charge Minerals in Podzolized Soils in Relation to Sulphur Deposition and Soil Acidity’, Doctoral Thesis, Swedish University of Agricultural Science, Uppsala.
Kling, G.W., Kipphut, G.W., Miller, M.M. and O’Brien, W.J.: 2000, ‘Integration of lakes and streams in a landscape perspective: The importance of material processing on spatial patterns and temporal coherence’, Freshw. Biol. 43, 477–497.
LaZerte, B.D.: 1993, ‘The impact of drought and acidification on the chemical exports from a minerotrophic conifer swamp’, Biogeochemistry 18, 153–175.
Löfgren, S., Bringmark, L., Aastrup, M., Hultberg, H., Kindbom, K. and Kvarnäs, H.: 2001, ‘Sulphur balances and dynamics in three forested catchments in Sweden’, Water, Air Soil Pollut. 130, 631–636.
Mörth, C.M., Torssander, P., Kusakabe, M. and Hultberg, H.: 1999, ‘Sulfur isotope values in a forested catchment over four years: Evidence for oxidation and reduction processes’, Biogeochemistry 44, 51–71.
Pace, M.L. and Cole, J.J.: 2002, ‘Synchronous variation of dissolved organic carbon and color in lakes’, Limnol. Oceanogr. 47, 333–342.
Rodhe, A.: 1987, ‘The Origin of Streamwater Traced by Oxygen-18’, Doctoral Thesis, Uppsala University.
Straile, D., Livingstone, D.M., Weyhenmeyer, G.A. and George, D.G.: 2003, ‘The Response of Fresh-water Ecosystems to Climate Variability Associated with the North Atlantic Oscillation’, in J.W. Hurrel, Y. Kushnir, G. Ottersen and M. Visbeck (eds), The North Atlantic Oscillation, Geophysical Monograph 134, AGU.
Torssander, P. and Mörth, C.M.: 1998, ‘Sulfur Dynamics in the Roof Experiment at Lake Gå rdsjön Deduced from Sulfur and Oxygen Isotope Ratios in Sulfate’, in: H. Hultberg and R. Skeffington (eds), Experimental Reversal of Rain Effects: Gårdsjön Roof Project, John Wiley & Sons Ltd., Chichester, pp. 185–206.
Umweltbundesamt: 1996, Manual on Methodologies and Criteria for Mapping Critical Loads/Levels (Mapping Manual), Texte 71/96, Berlin, UBA.
Weyhenmeyer, G.A.: 2004, ‘Relationships between lake water chemistry and the North Atlantic Oscillation — where, when and why?’, Limnol. Oceanogr. 49, 1191–1201.
Wilander, A.: 1997, Waterchemistry in Reference Lakes During 12 Years, Report 4652, Stockholm, Swedish Environmental Protection Agency.
Wilander, A., Johnson, R.K. and Goedkoop, W.: 2003, Riksinventering 2000 (in Swedish), Report 2003:1, Dept. of Environ. Assess., Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala.
Wilander, A., Johnson, R.K., Goedkoop, W. and Lundin, L.: 1998, Riksinventering 1995, Rapport 4813, Stockholm, Swedish Environmental Protection Agency.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
FÖlster, J., Göransson, E., Johansson, K. et al. Synchronous variation in water chemistry for 80 lakes in Southern Sweden. Environ Monit Assess 102, 389–403 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-005-6394-7
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-005-6394-7